Can't Get You Out Of My Head
by lauren diane
Summary: Ric sets out to win Elizabeth back, but will Lucky stand in the way? R&R PLZ!
1. Default Chapter

Can't Get You Out Of My Head By Lauren Diane Rated: R---NC-17 Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. I'm just using them for my own enjoyment! Summary: Ric sets out to win Elizabeth back. Feedback: Yes, Please! Lizandricfan@yahoo.com Author's Note: This takes place right after the second time Ric sleeps with Faith. I had to include it because this is the only way my mind would except it! LOL! Now I'm trying to use as little drabness as possible!  
  
~*~  
  
Chapter 1  
  
"I love you! I tried to fight it, but I just can't. I want to be with you."  
  
He couldn't believe his ears. She still loved him. He ran to her and enveloped her in his arms.  
  
"God, I've waited so long to hear you say those words to me." He kissed her cheeks, eyelids, forehead, mouth. "I love you so much, baby. I promise, everything will be different this time." He reveled in the feeling of her lips on his, her hands in his hair, her body molding with his. It was perfect, just the way it was supposed to be. It was like a dream.  
  
"Wake up, sleepyhead!"  
  
At the sound of the high-pitched feminine voice squeaking in his ear, he was pulled from the comfort of his love's arms, and propelled back to reality. In this reality, his wife, his love, wanted nothing to do with him. In this reality, he kidnapped his brother's pregnant wife. In this reality, he was face down on a strange bed with a woman he detested at his side, and one monster of a hangover. Ric Lansing, this is your life!  
  
Ric lifted his eyelids, exposing his orbs to the bright morning sun, and quickly shut them when his head began to throb. Note for the future: No more alcohol. He slowly reopened his eyes and glanced to his right to see Faith lying beside him, licking his back. Another note: If you plan on waking up with her in the future, alcohol is a must!  
  
"Oh, Jesus." He pushed away from the bed, sat on the side, and pulled on his jeans that were thrown recklessly on the floor.  
  
"Is that any way to treat your lover, Mr. Lansing? Did the little waitress let you get away with that?" Faith rose to her knees so she could hang herself over Ric's shoulders. He pushed her off.  
  
"Don't.just don't mention her right now." He couldn't help but feel guilty about his night with Faith. He was married to Elizabeth. He loved Elizabeth. She was the only woman he wanted to be with. And he cheated on her.  
  
But he shouldn't feel guilty. She turned on him. She said she couldn't be with him. And then she went off and slept with her ex, Lucky Spencer. Okay, maybe that was a big jump, but Ric wasn't born yesterday. He saw the way they were wrapped in each other's arms just before he arrived at the hospital. He saw the look in Lucky's eyes when Ric interrupted them. He heard Elizabeth's declaration that she wanted nothing to do with her husband. And then he watched them walk away together, hand in hand. No doubt to go make wild, passionate love somewhere.  
  
Eck. The image churned his stomach. Almost as much as the image of himself in bed with Faith Roscoe, again.  
  
"I thought you were done with her." Faith stood, not bothering to cover her naked body. "I mean, I'd hate to have to kill you for breaking my heart again."  
  
"You have a heart?" Ric laughed, walked to the bar for a glass of vodka. "And you're right. I'm done having my heart trampled on as well. I'm done with Elizabeth."  
  
The alcohol scorched its way down his throat and landed in a smoldering heap at the pit of his stomach. He appreciated the burn. It let him know he was still alive, not just a ghost still going through the motions of life because there were no Elysian Fields waiting for him.  
  
"That's good to hear, Ric. Because after last night, I'm not sure that I could kill you." She stood in front of him, kissed him, and he let her. There was no point fighting it anymore. This is what he deserved.  
  
He didn't deserve his beautiful Elizabeth's love. He didn't deserve a family and a life with her. He deserved meaningless sex with a woman he could barely look at without wanting to kill. Because he was exactly like her.  
  
A knock at the door saved Ric, for the present, from having to follow through with what the kiss would normally precede.  
  
"Put something on. I'll get that." Ric finished off his drink, headed to the door of the two-room cabin---bedroom and bathroom---that Faith used to get away from Port Charles.  
  
"Wait a minute." Faith picked up her dress from the floor and slipped it over her head. "Who in the hell else knows where this place is? It is supposed to be a safe house. As in, no one knows about it, making it safe for me to hide out in. I mean, first Scott, then Sonny shows up? Where are my guards? Do they want to be fired?"  
  
She beat Ric to the door; he was too busy covering his ears during her rant, protecting his sore head, to make his way there. "Well, look what we have here? I think it's a Girl Scout, Ric."  
  
And then he felt it. That familiar warmth that flowed through his body whenever she was around. He palms went a bit damp, his knees a bit weak. Was it normal for a grown man to feel like this?  
  
He turned around slowly, as not to fall over. When he saw her, his breath hitched in his throat. She was literally breathtaking.  
  
She had on her favorite jeans, huge flares at the bottoms that covered her shoes. Of course her shoes always matched her top, regardless of their invisibility. Her shirt, if you could really call it that, since it was really just a couple of straps that covered the necessary areas, was dark blue, his favorite color. It must be new, because he didn't recognize it. And he pretty much had her entire wardrobe memorized. She had on her usual make-up---light coat of lip-gloss, and eye shadow to match her shirt. Her skin was too perfect---her cheeks a natural blush---for anything else. And her hair, pulled back in a tight ponytail, exposing her long, smooth neck. She knew it was his favorite style.  
  
Was she trying to drive him crazy? Was this a sick joke she was playing to hurt him again? Or maybe that wasn't it at all. Maybe, just maybe she was there to take him back. But then he looked into her eyes---dark, hurt, confused---and realized she wasn't there for a happy reunion.  
  
"We don't want any." Faith broke the silence, smiled sweetly, sugary, toward her contender. Elizabeth Webber had another thing coming if she thought Faith was giving Ric up without a fight, or a dead body.  
  
"Heh, funny." Elizabeth pushed through Faith to enter the---quite obvious--- love nest. She couldn't help but feel the pang of hurt, jealousy at the thought of Ric and Faith sleeping in that torn up bed. But it was obvious they had.  
  
When she saw Ric, heard the voice in the back of her head that told her to run into his arms, kiss him, love him, she realized she'd made a big mistake coming to see him. However, backing down from Faith, letting her think she had control over Elizabeth, that was a bigger mistake. So she stood her ground. "But I don't think you speak for Ric."  
  
"Do you hear him speaking?"  
  
"No, because you don't seem to be letting him. But right now, I need a word alone with."---she paused, smiled---".my husband. So if you don't mind."---her eyes darted to the door and back.  
  
"Oh, no. I don't."  
  
"Go, Faith." Ric interrupted.  
  
"Excuse me?" She snapped after catching Elizabeth's amused smile. "In case you're forgetting, this is my cabin."  
  
"And I'll make it up to you later." He glanced at Elizabeth to gage her reaction, and hoped she'd gotten better at hiding her emotions. Because he didn't see pain in her eyes, face, body language. All he saw now was a statue.  
  
Faith smiled, walked to Ric, devoured him. Elizabeth wanted to throw up. It's not, she told herself, that she was jealous. It was just Faith. It had nothing to do with the fact that another woman had her tongue down her husband's throat.  
  
"Make sure that you do." Faith practically skipped to the door, blew Ric one final kiss before leaving.  
  
"Well, that was a.disgusting display." Elizabeth fought back tears.  
  
"Jealous?"  
  
"Hardly. I just came here to."  
  
"To what? No, first of all, how did you find this place?" Ric went to the bar to pour himself another drink. Faith had no TV, no radio, no books, no anything, but she had a bar. "You want?"  
  
"No, I.a vodka." She needed all the help she could manage to get through this.  
  
Ric smiled his devilishly handsome smile, before pouring her drink. "Since when did you start drinking vodka?"  
  
She noticed he was making the same for himself. "About the same time as you, I suppose."  
  
He laughed a little. "Yeah. I like it. Burns more going down."  
  
"Thanks." She downed the glass, placed it on the table. "The reason I'm here."  
  
"No, first. How did you know where here is?" He noticed she was uncomfortable. He filled her glass, gave it back to her. His deceptive mind started to contemplate ways to get her out of the country if she passed out from too much vodka, but his plan was botched when she started to sip this time.  
  
"I followed you the other day, after you left my studio."  
  
"After you called the police on me?"  
  
"Yeah," Elizabeth thought of the lie she'd told Ric, decided it was best to let him believe it. "I went to the hospital to see my grandmother, saw you with Faith. I decided to follow you." Her laugh was laced with bitterness. "I should have known you'd go to her."  
  
"Well, what I do is no longer your business, now that you're shaking up with your ex."  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
Ric slammed his glass down on the bar. "I'm not stupid, Elizabeth. I saw you with Lucky at the hospital. Tell me, have you been sleeping with him this whole time?"  
  
She would have laughed if Ric's assumption didn't seem like the perfect way to get him to back off. "I never cheated on you, Ric. Because, stupidly, I loved you with everything that I had. But now, what Lucky and I do is none of YOUR business."  
  
"You're really going to be with him after he slept with your sister?"  
  
"Okay, Ric. I don't think you really want to get into the track records of my previous lovers right about now."  
  
"What I did, I did because I loved you. I know it was insane, but at the time, it seemed like the right thing to do." Ric poured another glass of vodka, drank it, so he could blame his watery eyes on the alcohol. "I would have never cheated on you because you were---god, you still are the most precious thing to me. You're all I want."  
  
She had to get this done and get out of there. She felt herself began to cave.  
  
She pulled a packet out of her purse, handed it to Ric. "Here, I need you to sign these."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Divorce papers. I need you to sign them."  
  
He scanned the document in front of him. "Divorce papers." He said it under his breath. Just when he thought he couldn't hurt more, she went for another jab in the gut.  
  
"Come on, Ric. You had to know this was coming. You didn't think we'd stay married forever, did you?"  
  
"That was the plan."  
  
"Well, the plan changed. Probably sometime around when you kidnapped Carly. Or when you paid a doctor to tell me one of the most devastating things possible. Oh, you did try to smother me to death. And we can't forget the birth."  
  
"You know what, Elizabeth?" Ric screamed. "I know my mistakes. I don't need you listing them for me!"  
  
"Well, if you know them, you know you owe me this divorce."  
  
He owed her? He supposed she was right. However, something---the alcohol, how beautiful she looked, the finality the divorce papers represented--- something told him to keep fighting.  
  
"Okay," He stepped toward her, placed her drink on the table. "I'll sign these on one condition." He moved closer. "You make love to me one last time."  
  
She almost laughed until she saw his eyes go dark; considered the possibility he wasn't joking. "Ric, there is no way."  
  
"Did think so. I guess I'll just have to settle for this."  
  
Before she could react, he had her pulled against him, crushed his lips to hers. Desire, demand, need. His mouth took hers selfishly, violently. He wanted to take all he could from her: the passion, the love. Then he found himself giving his passion, his love.  
  
She put her arms on his shoulders to push him away, but found herself pulling him closer instead. She dug her nails into the hot, bare flesh of his back.  
  
And then she began to give. She matched his intensity with her own. Hunger to hunger. Heart to heart. Love to love.  
  
It was there. Love. She felt it. Felt it crashing over her in waves. She couldn't fight it off. She didn't want to. She hadn't felt this alive in weeks. She wanted it back. She wanted him back.  
  
He pulled away, kept his arms around her when she stumbled. He smiled down at her, drugged. "You felt that. I know you did."  
  
"What?"  
  
He took a hand from around her waist to run along her cheek. "I could taste how much you love me, Elizabeth. You need to be with me just as much as I need to be with you."  
  
Elizabeth's mind cleared and she pushed away from him. She was appalled at herself for acting like such a fool, letting too much show. "I don't know what you're talking about. It was a kiss. Kisses are seductive, powerful. I was just caught off guard."  
  
"There you go, trying to talk yourself out of it again. You love me, Elizabeth. I know that for certain now."  
  
"God, Ric. Yes, I still love you. Is that what you want to hear?" She threw her purse on the ground and sat in the chair next to the bed she refused to look at. "After everything you've done, Ric, I still love you. What kind of person does that make me?" She rested her head in her lap.  
  
He bent to his knees in front of her chair. "It makes you kind, good hearted, understanding, loving, Elizabeth. It makes you the woman I fell in love with. The woman who can forgive, who thinks of others first, who just wants to do the right thing. Just give me a chance, Elizabeth. I'll prove to you that I can change."  
  
She looked into his eyes. He could see her deciding, measuring, weighing. He tried to think of something to do, something to say that would convince her he was telling the truth, but it was too late. Her eyes told him she'd made up her mind.  
  
She pushed past him and picked up the divorce papers that had fallen on the floor sometime during their kiss. "Sign them, Ric."  
  
Getting up, he took them from her, debated, then ripped them in half. "There is no way in hell I'm signing you out of my life."  
  
"Fine." She picked up her purse. "I'll just take you to court."  
  
She started toward the door, but his words had her stopping in place. "I'll fight you."  
  
She turned back to him, almost laughed at how pitiful his case would be. "Ric, a judge will give me a divorce after what you did to Carly."  
  
"The charges were dropped, not enough evidence. You can't use that."  
  
"Well, I don't have to. There are all of the things you've done to me."  
  
"You're word against mine."  
  
She couldn't believe he was making this so hard. "Okay, how about the fact that I'm cheating on you with Lucky?" She hated to see the pain fill his eyes, but she had to convince him that he couldn't win.  
  
"I love you, Elizabeth. I'd forgive you anything." He said, honestly.  
  
After a long pause, she came up with the one thing that could wipe that smug grin off of his face. "You're now cheating on me with Faith, and I can't forgive anything. You know she'll testify."  
  
"Even so, I'll fight you with everything I have."  
  
"Ric, why are you doing this to me?"  
  
"God, Elizabeth, don't you see? I'm not doing this to you. I'm doing this for you. For us. We'll never be happy if we're not together. Do you remember," He started when she didn't respond. "The day I moved into my apartment?" He moved to her, ran his hands up and down her arms. She didn't stop him. "We made love for hours, talked about decorating the place, started to make plans for our future."  
  
"And you lied to me, again. Told me you only wanted to make Jason look back on paper, when you really wanted to get him out of the way so you could get close to Sonny. So you could destroy your own brother." She turned away from him. "Yeah, Ric, I remember that day just fine."  
  
"Do you remember what I told you that day? When you asked if you were to walk out, would I let you go? Do you remember what I said?"  
  
After a pause, she replied, "You said 'No.'"  
  
"That's right." He stood in front of her now, put his knuckle under her chin to raise her eyes to meet his. "I said 'No.' And I have every intention of keeping that promise. I love you, and I will fight for you until the day that I die."  
  
With all of the venom she could muster, she turned herself cold. "Then I'll cry at your funeral."  
  
With that, she left him alone to contemplate his next move. 


	2. 2

Can't Get You Out Of My Head  
  
Chapter 2  
  
When she stepped out of the elevator, Elizabeth quickly scanned the fifth floor Nurses' Station. He said it was important, that she needed to get to the hospital immediately. But when she does get there, he's no where in sight.  
  
"Liz." She heard his voice behind her. Her heart pounded as she turned to face him.  
  
"Lucky? Is everything okay? You're message just said to get here right away. Did something happen to Emily?" She shouldn't have turned her phone off before going to see Ric. She didn't even know why she did. If something happened to Emily and she was too busy with her own crap to see her, she'd never forgive herself.  
  
"No, Em's okay. She's fine." He stroked her hair, trying to soothe her worry.  
  
"Then what is it? You're message scared the hell out of me, Lucky."  
  
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you, it's just.here, let's sit." He tried to lead her to the chairs, but she resisted.  
  
"No, Lucky, I don't want to sit. Just tell me what's going on." He said Emily was fine, but something bad was going on. She heard it in his voice.  
  
"Em's awake, Liz. She wanted me to get you."  
  
"Awake? That's good. That's a good thing, so what's wrong?"  
  
"I talked to Monica." He paused, didn't know how to say it. Emily was a shining light in both of their lives. He wasn't ready to face the possibility that the light could go out. "She got some test results back for Emily, and they weren't good."  
  
"They weren't good? Lucky, what does that mean? You're scaring me again."  
  
"I'm sorry. Um, she said," God, he was stupid. He could barely remember what Monica had told him. "The medication. It's not working like it's supposed to. And.her immune system is shutting down. It's not helping at all anymore to fight off the infection." When he saw the tears spill from Elizabeth's eyes, his wanted to mimic the emotion. But he couldn't. He had to stay strong, for Emily, for Liz. "Monica said if they can't find something to counteract the infection soon, its going.it's going to start taking over her organs one by one."  
  
Elizabeth swore she felt her heart stop. This wasn't happening. She realized things were getting bad, but in the back of her mind she knew.she knew that the doctors would remember some other medicine that was going to fix everything. They had to. But was her instinct wrong?  
  
"Are you okay, Liz? Maybe you should sit down." She didn't fight him this time when he ushered her toward the seats, sat her down.  
  
"We're not going to lose her, Lucky. We can't. The doctor Nik called, Monica, they're going to think of something. I know it." She assured him, tried to assure herself.  
  
"You're right. Em's a fighter. She'll get through this." Lucky put his arm around her, placed a kiss of her forehead. "So how did it go with Ric this morning?"  
  
"What?" It took her a second to come out of her own thoughts and back to reality. "Oh, terrible."  
  
Lucky pulled back and faced her. "What does that mean? What happened?"  
  
"He just basically told me that he knew I was still in love with him so he's not giving up. He ripped up the papers. He said he's going to fight me if I go to court."  
  
"Then we'll fight back. I'll help in any way I can."  
  
"Yeah." Her voice was far off, she was thinking about something.  
  
Lucky raised an eyebrow at her. "What else?"  
  
She laughed. "You know me too well." She paused. "He was.with Faith Roscoe. And it was quite obvious that they were.well, I'm not going to spell it out."  
  
"You don't have to." Lucky wanted to ring that guy's neck for hurting Elizabeth. She was such a good person who just wanted to believe that she could help people. But men like Ric, Jason, even Lucky took advantage of her good heart.  
  
Elizabeth tried a laugh. It came out more like a sigh. "He, uh, when he saw us here yesterday, hugging, he assumed we were back together. Or at least sleeping together."  
  
"He did?"  
  
"Yeah, and I.I let him keep believing that. I hope that's okay with you."  
  
Lucky couldn't pinpoint what he thought of that. It was kind of funny. He and Elizabeth hadn't been together in a long time. The idea of getting back together had never crossed his mind.until now. "Yeah, that's fine. I'll make sure to go along with it if I see him."  
  
"Thanks." She kissed his cheek. "You're the best."  
  
"Well, isn't this cute? It's like a Kodak moment."  
  
A wave of unexpected irritation flew over Elizabeth at the redhead's voice. She didn't know exactly why she hated Lydia. It probably had something to do with the fact that she was married to Nik.  
  
"Yes, it was. And you interrupted it." Lucky stood, not just a little irritated himself. "I hope there's a reason."  
  
"Yes, there is. I need to speak to you." She glanced at Elizabeth. "Alone."  
  
"Liz can stay."  
  
"No." Elizabeth stood. "I want to go see Em. I think I'm composed enough not to depress her now."  
  
"Are you sure you want to go alone? I could go with you?"  
  
"No no. You guys talk. I'll just see you later, lover." She winked at him before heading down the hall toward Emily's room.  
  
Because her head was in her purse, she was shocked when she slammed into a hard body.  
  
"I'm sorry," She looked up into a familiar face. "Zander, hey. How's Em doing?"  
  
"She's doing okay. We just got some bad news though." His eyes were so sad. That's all Elizabeth could see.  
  
"Lucky told me. He talked to Monica. But they're going to find something. I know it. I can feel it." And she did.  
  
He smiled, but his eyes were still crying dryly. "Thanks." Now his face lit up. "But I have some good news. Em and I are getting married! Tomorrow we're having the ceremony."  
  
She couldn't hide her shock. "Married? Really? Wow, Zander. That's great!" She gave him a hug, not sure what she thought of the idea.  
  
"Thanks. You should go in and see her. She's awake. She kicked me out, making me go get food." He laughed. "Always thinking of everyone but herself."  
  
"Yeah." She squeezed his arm. "Congratulations."  
  
Elizabeth slowly made her way into Emily's room, stopped when she saw her. She looked weak, fragile. She didn't look like Emily at all.  
  
Her eyes fluttered open. "Liz?" Even her voice was shaky.  
  
"Yeah, honey. How are you?" She sat in the chair next to the bed.  
  
"Eck. Not the greatest."  
  
"I heard you're getting married."  
  
Emily's face registered her devastation, but she put on a smile. "Yeah, Zander just asked me."  
  
"What about Nik?"  
  
Another look of sadness graced her features. "Zander's who I want to be with."  
  
"Emily, who do you think you're talking to here?" Elizabeth smiled. "I know you, and I know you're in love with Nik. So why are you pushing him away?"  
  
Emily considered lying, but there was no use. This was Liz. She always told Liz the truth. "Nik.okay, Stefan borrowed money from creditors that he can't pay back unless he gets the money from Lydia. The money that they get when Lydia and Nikolas are married and have a child."  
  
"God, that's terrible for Stefan, but Em, that's his problem. Not Nik's."  
  
"But that's just it. The creditors said if they don't get the money, they'll kill Nikolas."  
  
"Oh my God. Em." Elizabeth didn't know what to say. Why was this happening to Emily? She had so much to deal with already, now she couldn't even have the man she loved by her side.  
  
"Yeah, but I don't want to talk about it. I want to talk about you, and how much I love you. And I want you to know that you have been the best friend a girl could ever have." She raised a shaky hand when Liz tried to speak. "I just want you to know that you are such a good person, with a good heart, and you deserve the best of everything. And, whatever happens to me, well, I don't tell you enough how important you are to me, and how big of a difference you make in my life. I wouldn't have made it this far without you, Liz. I love you."  
  
Elizabeth's face was streaked with tears. "I love you too." She leaned in to give Emily a kiss, tried to hug her as best she could. "And you're going to have lots more opportunities to tell me how great I am because you're going to get through this. Don't look so down, Em. I have a feeling. Everything is going to be okay."  
  
"You believe that?"  
  
"One hundred percent, Em. And you need to believe it too."  
  
Emily just smiled. "So, tell me what's been going on with you."  
  
"No. You don't want to go over my boring life. There are so many more things we can talk about."  
  
Emily raised an eyebrow at her. "Like what?" She paused for an answer, continued when Liz didn't come up with one. "Lucky told me you went to take Ric divorce papers. Does it feel better to have it over with?"  
  
"Well, it might, if he hadn't ripped them in half."  
  
"What?"  
  
Elizabeth told Emily everything that happened at Faith's cabin.  
  
"Elizabeth, that must have been awful. So what are you going to do?"  
  
"I don't know." And she didn't. There were too many things going on inside her to decide. First there was Ric, promising to fight. Then her own desire to keep him as close to her as possible. Everything he's done. The fact that he slept with Faith. But it always came back to love, the love they shared.  
  
"Well then. How do you feel about Ric?"  
  
"I love him." Elizabeth said without hesitation.  
  
"And if he uses everything he has to get you back?"  
  
She frowned, hating herself for the answer she knew was the truth. "I don't think I could say no."  
  
~*~  
  
He could slip something in her drink, wait until she passes out, and put her on a plane to Italy. They could have the honeymoon they were deprived of. No one they know around to discourage their time together. He could wine and dine her, show her how wonderful their life could be together.  
  
All.while.keeping.her.captive.no, Ric told himself. Elizabeth would have a hard time enjoying herself. She'd probably try to leave. He couldn't do that.well, he could store it in the back of his mind as a "last case scenario."  
  
This was his favorite part of scheming. Working out in his mind all of the crazy.necessary things that needed to be done to make things turn out the way they were supposed to.  
  
And he and Elizabeth were meant to be together. That he was sure of. He just had to find a way to convince her of it.  
  
There was always staging it so they were trapped somewhere together. Caught in a snowstorm in a cabin? No, it was August, and, after that mornings debacle with Faith, it was best to leave cabins out of the mix.  
  
Door handle stuck in his hotel room, and the phones were dead? It would be tricky to get her there, and even if he could, she'd probably bring her cell phone and call the front desk. But getting her to a hotel room was worth a shot.  
  
Maybe he could.  
  
He heard a car door slam outside of Faith's cabin. It was about time. He'd considered just packing everything up and taking off, but that wouldn't have been smart. Faith would no doubt be perturbed, and with her track record, she'd go after Elizabeth first. He had to find a way to break things off with her, and convince her that Elizabeth was not the reason.  
  
"Hey there, sexy." She came through the door with at least four huge shopping bags. "I have some fun new toys for us to.play with." She tossed them on the bed, started rummaging through them. "Now, even though I'm partial to black, I know you like bright colors. So this was for you." She pulled out a bright red, lace teddy. It made Ric cringe to think of her in it.  
  
"That's nice, Faith, but."  
  
"Oh, and you are going to love these." She reached for another bag, pulled out handcuffs and a black, leather whip. "What do you think?"  
  
He stood. "Okay, Faith. Enough show and tell. We need to talk." He grabbed the "toys" from her and threw them on the bed. When she tried to kiss him, he shoved her away.  
  
"Oh, you're kidding me." Her face went dark with fury. "That little twit shows up and all of a sudden I'm not good enough?"  
  
"This has nothing to do with her."  
  
"Didn't I warn you, Ric?" She tilted her head a bit to the side, bit her lower lip, before, sweetly, curving it into a smile. "I said if you broke my heart, I'd kill you. Didn't you believe me?"  
  
"I heard you, Faith. And I believed you. But I'm no good for you right now."  
  
"Because you're still in love with the little wifey?"  
  
"That's part of it. But it's not what you think."  
  
She ran her hands threw her hair, looked up at the ceiling. "Really?" She looked back at him, her dark eyes pinning him in place. "You're not leaving me to go chase after that two-bit waitress you call 'true love?'"  
  
"No. I'm leaving."  
  
"So this has nothing to do with the fact that she was here today?"  
  
Ric hesitated, had to make this believable. "It has a lot to do with that."  
  
Her eyebrow raised, a smug victory lighting her face. "I thought you said you were done with her?"  
  
"I am. Or rather, she's done with me. She came here to give me divorce papers."  
  
"And you were shocked?" she asked. "You didn't think that was the next step?"  
  
"Divorce honestly never entered my mind." He sat back down, tried to look hurt, upset, in need of pity. "But I signed them. It was the least I could do for her."  
  
Faith moved to him, grabbed his shoulders, shook him hard. "Wake up, Ric! It was the least you could do for yourself. You don't need that annoying little homemaker. You can have me!"  
  
He tried not to laugh. Was she serious? Knowing Faith, she was very serious.  
  
"It's not that simple. My heart is still not in the right place to jump into another relationship."  
  
She bent in front of him, stroked his hair. "Honey, it's okay. So you're not ready to love me. I love enough for the both of us. In time you will." She reached for his pants buckle. "But until then."  
  
He stood, pushed past her. "No, Faith. I can't. Not now."  
  
She walked to him, her features went soft. "Okay. Okay, Ric. If you're not ready, I understand. Just remember to call me when you are."  
  
Her looked back at her, studied her. It almost seemed too easy.  
  
"Are you sure you're okay? I never meant to hurt you again."  
  
She smiled. It looked sincere. "I know you didn't." She looked ready to cry. "But, hey. It was fun while it lasted, wasn't it? And it could be fun again."  
  
"Thanks, Faith." He grabbed his bag, headed for the door. "You really are a great person." He lied. He needed to find a way to deal with her before she could do anything to hurt Elizabeth.  
  
"You'll see just how great I can be." Faith scowled at the closed door. "You think you're safe? You think you can hurt me time and again for that little wife of yours, and I won't come after you? Think again, Ric. Think again." 


	3. 3

Can't Get You Out Of My Head  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Elizabeth stepped out of the elevator, took two deep breaths, and turned to Sonny's penthouse door. She saw the guard on duty and sighed her relief.  
  
"Hey Max, how you doin'?" She did her best impersonation of Joey Tribbiani from Friends.  
  
He laughed, tried to mimic her exaggerated flirty tone. "Hey hey sexy thing. Ten times better now that you're here. Knowing there's a possibility that you're beautiful smile will make it up this way is the only thing that keeps me sane while guarding these crazy bastards."  
  
"And I pray every time I hit that elevator that its you I'll be relieving of your boredom."  
  
"I'll bet you say that to all of us big, strong, bodyguards." He fluttered his eyelashes.  
  
"Actually no." Elizabeth turned serious. Well, at least as serious as she could be around Max. He was such a goof. "Marco's a bit young, still acts like one of those soldiers you see in England. You know, the ones that stand very still and can't talk." She imitated their stance. "And Johnny." She shook her head, shrugged. "Don't know what his deal is. He's never been as great as you, but he's even worse as of late."  
  
"Well, as of late, you haven't been on Sonny's list of favorite people. And we all know Johnny's world revolves around Sonny."  
  
He leaned in, whispered. "And I'm pretty sure he has a crush on Mrs. C."  
  
"Nah uh!" She shrieked. "Did he say that?"  
  
"No way. It's just little things I've noticed. Like whenever he helps her with her coat, he lets his hands linger a little too long on her shoulders. He mumbles a lot when she's around too. And then, oh my God, the other day Carly was bitching about losing one of her hair scrunchies and I swear I saw it sticking out of his pocket!"  
  
"Oh my God." The thought was just.revolting! "I cannot believe that! Johnny? Oh man. Just disgusting."  
  
She ran her hands through her hair, tried to get the thought of a crazy stalker Johnny out of her head. "So, on to a more pleasant subject. How's your life? Are you still with that rock star chick, Reese?"  
  
"Nah. She was a bit too freaky for my tastes, into the vampire thing. So I'm flying solo again."  
  
"Join the party." She laughed. "But we ought to be able to find you a girl. Oh." An idea came to her. "Now, I know you said no before because she'd just broken up with someone, but Penny's been single for about six months now." Her expression was trying to push him into saying yes.  
  
"I don't know, Elizabeth. She's kind of young." And she was one of those people that are nice to everyone, so it was harder than hell to tell if they were interested. He was insecure enough.  
  
"Oh, she's twenty-one. And you're what? Twenty-six? Twenty-seven?"  
  
"Twenty-eight."  
  
"See? That's only seven years difference. There were eight years between me and Jason, and I married Ric who's eleven years older than me!"  
  
He raised an eyebrow at her. "And look how those relationships turned out. The first was too stupid to keep you, and the second, too crazy!"  
  
She had to laugh. Only Max could make her think lightly of her horrible track record with men. "Point taken. I can't pick'em. But Penny's smart as a whip, and sane as.well, something that's really sane."  
  
"Well, I'll take your view point into consideration. Thank you." He gave her a peck on the forehead. "However, not to get too serious on you here, but about Ric. I had a chance to get to know him pretty well when Sonny had me guarding him at the safe house. He's really not that bad of a guy."  
  
"Max, he kidnapped a pregnant woman, planned to steal her baby, and give it to me." She tried to keep her voice light and easy, but her pain was seeping through. "Did you know he fed me birth control pills so I couldn't get pregnant? Even paid a doctor to tell me I couldn't have children so I'd want to adopt. Then, here's the kicker. He tried to smother me to death!"  
  
"Well, I never said he was sane. Actually, a couple of seconds ago I said just the opposite." He ran a hand through her hair. "I'm just saying that everything he did, in his own way, he had good intentions. And he loves you. You can tell just by watching him when you're name is merely stated. Hell, I could tell he loved you back before it came out that he was Sonny's brother."  
  
"What? No." She shook her head. "We hadn't even."  
  
"I'm telling you what I saw!" He said firmly. "I remember seeing the two of you dancing at the Cellar one night. I think it was the night that Sonny and Jason had that big beef there. Well, I saw how much he loved you then, Elizabeth. And it's only grown."  
  
She smiled. "What am I going to do with you? Always confusing me, but making me happy, too."  
  
"Hey, what are ex-'guys that used to get paid to follow you around' for?" He winked at her. "Now, Mrs. Lansing, why don't you tell me the purpose of your visit here today."  
  
"I need to talk to Carly."  
  
"Eck. Stupid girl. It's always best to avoid the she-devil."  
  
She laughed at that. "Even so, I do want to see how she's doing. Ric told me that Scott dropped the charges against him. Lack of evidence."  
  
"Yeah, they weren't too happy about that."  
  
"I just figured it was the polite thing to do; come over and try for civil."  
  
"Civil? You and Carly?" He sighed. "Never in a million years. However, if you're going to start a fight, make sure to keep it calm. Sonny'd kill me if anything happened to her on my watch."  
  
"I'll try."  
  
Max knocked on the door. After a long minute, Carly answered.  
  
"What is it, Max?"  
  
"Mrs. Lansing to see you."  
  
Carly looked over at her, sneered, then waved her in. On her way past, Max squeezed Elizabeth's shoulder, wished her a silent good luck. Then the door shut behind her, and she was alone with her enemy.  
  
"Sonny isn't here if you planned on badgering him about Ric." Carly sat on the sofa, went back to flipping through channels. The best way to get rid of a pest, she thought, was to pay it as little attention as possible.  
  
"I'm not here to see Sonny. I wanted to talk to you."  
  
"Really? What about?"  
  
Elizabeth bit her lip. She knew this game. Carly was ignoring her so she'd leave. But she had something to say, and she wasn't leaving until she was satisfied.  
  
"I just want to say I'm sorry about what happened with Ric. About Scott dropping the charges. I know that must hurt, after everything he's done to you. I'm sorry."  
  
Carly looked up at her now. "I figured you'd be happy that your husband is free."  
  
"Carly, he tried to kill me, put me in the hospital, wanted me to believe I couldn't have children. I think he should have to pay for his crimes. Its terrible that he gets to walk because the state couldn't come up with more evidence."  
  
"Evidence?" Carly smiled wickedly. She loved when Elizabeth walked into situations blind. "You think that's what the problem was?"  
  
"Yeah. Lack of evidence. What other reason is there?"  
  
"The reason is, Elizabeth, your psycho husband made a deal with Scott. They came up with a plan to say that I was having an affair with Ric. They said I went there voluntarily."  
  
"What?"  
  
"That's right. He's making me look like a whore and treating your marriage like its nothing. Its strange that everything he does winds up hurting us both."  
  
"Carly, I'm sorry. I had no idea. That's terrible."  
  
"Well, he'll get his." She went back to flipping channels.  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?" Elizabeth asked, fearing the answer.  
  
Another hateful smiled played on Carly's lips. "What? You think Sonny'd just let him get away with this?"  
  
"So what are you saying? Sonny's planning to kill him.again?"  
  
"Duh!"  
  
"Oh my God." Elizabeth put her hand to her heart, tried to slow the beating. "You people are sick."  
  
"Here she goes again." Carly muttered under her breath.  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"You're defending Ric again. It's the same story over and over Elizabeth." Carly looked up. "When are you going to learn?"  
  
"No. I'm not defending anything Ric has done. I'm just saying you have no right to play God. Don't you understand how twisted you people are?" Elizabeth wanted to go on, but decided it was pointless. They never get it. "No. No. I'm not fighting with you, again."  
  
Carly stood now, walked to Elizabeth as she started to the door. "Know you won't win?"  
  
Elizabeth turned around. "No. I just know you're too far gone to understand how sick you are." She through her arms in the air. "God, haven't you ever heard of compassion? Human decency?"  
  
"And what compassion, human decency did you're crazy, psychotic husband show me, huh?"  
  
"You said it right there, Carly." Her voice was loud now. She knew Max would be enjoying the show. "He's psychotic, mentally ill. He doesn't deserve a Goddamn bullet through his skull. He needs counseling, help."  
  
"Can you ever come here without starting a fight with my wife?"  
  
She heard Sonny's voice behind her. She turned to him. "No. I didn't start this one. I tried to leave, but Carly started running her ignorant, uneducated mouth about my husband!"  
  
"Elizabeth, Elizabeth, Elizabeth. You're still defending that scum."  
  
"Do I have to explain this again? I'm not defending what he's done. He's done terrible things to me, to you. But you're not God. You don't get to decide who lives and dies! You're not a judge, or a jury!"  
  
"The judge and jury didn't come through on his one, Elizabeth. Someone has to make him pay."  
  
"God. Who in the hell are you, of all people, to judge anybody? You kill people for a living, Sonny!" Elizabeth smiled, bitterly. "Oh, no, wait. You don't kill people. You send your brain dead, robot to do it for you. But either way, you cause other peoples death without blinking. And why? To make money! At least Ric has an excuse. He's sick, he's damaged. Ric needs therapy because he has been so screwed up. But you? You twisted, sadistic, sonofabitch. What is your fucking excuse?"  
  
Elizabeth stormed to the door, threw it open. "You're too good, Max, to work for these sick, murderous bastards." She left, practically ran to the elevator.  
  
"Close the door, Max." Sonny ordered.  
  
Max did as he was told, before following Elizabeth. "Hey, are you okay?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine." She said, with an edge she regretted using on Max.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Nothing. It's fine. It's over."  
  
"Hey." He lifted her chin, forced her to look into his eyes. She knew then that he wasn't going to let her go anywhere before explaining.  
  
"Oh, fine." She rested her hands on her hips. "That stupid Barbie in there started going off about how Sonny was going to have Ric killed, and how stupid I was for standing up for him."  
  
He raised an eyebrow at her. "You stood up for him?"  
  
"Well, not really." She leaned against the wall. "I don't defend anything he's done. He was wrong. It was sick. He committed horrible crimes, Max."  
  
"I know he did."  
  
"But that doesn't give Sonny, the almighty, the right to have him killed."  
  
"I agree."  
  
She sighed. "But its like talking to a brick wall with the two of them. They don't understand how sick their way of thinking is!"  
  
"But that's the way the mob thinks. And Ric was stupid enough to get into this life."  
  
She looked up at him, questioning. "So you think that Sonny should be allowed to have him killed? You agree with that?"  
  
"No, of course not. I'm just saying that there's no way around that way of thinking for Ric. He messed with Sonny, and he knew Sonny was Sonny."  
  
"God, he was so stupid." She hit the door to the elevator with the palm of her hand. "Why in the hell isn't this thing opening?"  
  
Max reached around her and hit the down arrow. "Must not have pushed it right. It's temperamental."  
  
"What's all of the noise out here?"  
  
They both looked at Courtney standing in her doorway as the elevator opened.  
  
"Oh, fuck off, Skipper!"  
  
Max couldn't suppress a laugh as the elevator doors slid shut, and Elizabeth vanished.  
  
~*~  
  
Elizabeth threw the wet rag on the table, started to wipe it clean. Who in the hell do they think they are? They sit up there in their dark, dank, drab penthouses, presiding over Port Charles like they're Batman and co. But that's not them at all. They were like the Jokers, the Penguins, the Catwomen. Yeah, that's who Carly reminded her of: Catwoman. But not the gorgeous Michelle Pfeiffer version, the cartoon one from TV.  
  
Disgusted with herself for letting her mind wander back to the four antagonists in her story, Elizabeth tossed her dishtowel back on the tray covered with dirty dishes and headed back to the counter.  
  
Working the lunch rush had been good for her. It kept her busy thinking about the customers. But now all that was left was the tedious task of clearing tables and making coffee for the occasional regular. It allowed her mind to wander. She could think about Ric, and everyone else who thought it necessary to interfere in their life.  
  
And even more, she had Emily to worry about.  
  
When was this nightmare called Elizabeth Webber Lansing's Life going to end?  
  
"Hey, Liz. Can you help me?" Georgie Jones asked, standing in front of the register confused. "I can't figure out how to open the register without doing a sale, but I forgot to grab the change for a customer."  
  
"Yeah, sure." Elizabeth went to stand by the newest Kelly's employee. "You, um." She looked at the touch screen register and cringed. She didn't know why they needed to update their system when the old worked just fine. "Oh, you hit in your number, enter, no sale, then it asks you why. You just type in the comment box 'making change' or something like that."  
  
Elizabeth waited until she was finished with her customer before speaking again. "Hey, Georgie. I just want to apologize for acting so crabby earlier. I had a really bad morning, and I took it out on you. I'm sorry."  
  
Georgie smiled. "It's okay. I could tell there was something bothering you, so I just figured I'd leave you alone. But, I'm a really good listener if there's something you need to say."  
  
"Thanks." Georgie was such a sweet girl. "Right now though, I'm not really sure what I'm thinking, but when I do and if I still need to talk, I might take you up on that."  
  
Elizabeth went back to the dining area with a clean tray and starting clearing another table. When she was bent over wiping it down, she felt a strong arm wrap loosely around her waist, play seductively at the buckle of her jeans. The other arm came to rest a foot in front of her face holding a long, narrow, velvet box. She felt the warm breath on her neck and heard the low, husky voice in her ear.  
  
"Surprise, Beautiful."  
  
Her first instinct was to ease closer to his hard torso, let him surround her like his presence had her life. It would be so easy to surrender to the kisses that made their way from her neck, to her ear, her cheek.  
  
But then everything came back to her. All of the lies, the tears, the heartaches.  
  
So instead of falling under his spell yet again, she pulled away, turned, propelled her hand hard and fast across the smooth surface of Ric's face.  
  
"Don't you ever touch me again!"  
  
TBC 


End file.
